Jeff Bleiler -- Jackson Citizen Patriot
Daytona did not go particularly well for me, if you go by the standings. The guy I picked (Kyle Busch) finished 41st, but through no fault of his own. Let's see if my pick can stay out of trouble out West.

Winner: Jeff Gordon
Let's get this one out of the way early. It's well known that Gordon did not win a race last year, and he can put talk of his career degenerating to rest by winning this week.

Sleeper: Martin Truex Jr.
He sat on the pole for Daytona and posted a sixth-place finish at Fontana last year. He might improve on that Sunday.

No chance: Matt Kenseth
Daytona 500 winners have not won back-to-back races since Jeff Gordon won the big one and then the little one at Rockingham in 1997. Kenseth likes Fontana, having won there in 2006 and 2007, but he won't win this weekend.

Steve Kaminski -- The Grand Rapids Press
Jack Roush had never won the Daytona 500 before Matt Kenseth took home the checkered flag Sunday, and now the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series heads to California, where Roush has enjoyed plenty of success.

It won't be Kenseth in Victory Lane, but look for Roush to go 2-for-2 on the season.

Winner: Greg Biffle
Biffle will give car owner Jack Roush his fifth straight win in this race. Biffle took second in the September race last year.

Sleeper: Kasey Kahne
Kahne had a quiet Speed Week, but he had two top-10 finishes here last year.

No chance: Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Earnhardt has finished 40th in two of the past four California races.

Winner: Jimmie Johnson
Easiest pick on the board. The three-time defending Cup champion needs a good finish after a disappointing 31st last week. This is the place to do it, as he's finished in the top-three in five straight races at Fontana. Lock of the week.

Sleeper: A.J. Allmendinger
Go with the Dinger. Anthony James "A.J." Allmendinger surprised a lot of people last week with his third-place run at Daytona. He consistently was in the top five and stayed out of trouble. I still think this is going to be a big year for recent open-wheel converts.

No chance: Elliott Sadler
Sadler seemed to be the biggest beneficiary of all the cautions at Daytona, and he nearly found himself on the podium before finishing fifth. This week, he's at California, a place where he hasn't finished inside the top 20 in his last five starts. Back to the back of the pack, Mr. Sadler.

Troy Ruel -- The Muskegon Chronicle
I'm glad I had a little drafting help from Pryson in also picking Gordon at Daytona. And unlike another highly-touted rookie (Logano), I was able to stay out of the wall in my Trading Paint debut. However, everyone knows the season really starts this week with the cookie-cutter intermediate tracks.

Winner: Jimmie Johnson
It's tough not to pick a Roush-Fenway car this weekend, but Johnson's performance last fall in the Pepsi 500 was amazing. He started on the pole, led 227 laps and had a 12-second lead at one point before a "convenient" caution flag flew.

In 12 California starts, Johnson has eight top-five finishes. Even if the three-time Cup champion doesn't win, he's going to be in hunt.

Sleeper: Brian Vickers
It's hard to believe the 25-year-old Vickers won a Nationwide Series championship five years ago.

Blocking aside at Daytona, he's finally maturing enough to contend on the Cup circuit. Vickers always runs well on the intermediate tracks: he won the pole last August at Michigan and had a car good enough to win the Coca-Cola 600 before the wheels fell off.

No chance: Dale Earnhardt Jr.
There's no question that Junior can win at Fontana. He has three career top-five Cup finishes and a Nationwide win there. However, until he addresses his lack of focus on pit road, he's going to continue having trouble winning races, let alone worrying about that elusive championship.